When the Giro d’Italia route was announced earlier this year, the consensus amongst the peloton was clear: the gravel stage at the end of the opening week could be decisive. The white roads of Tuscany, synonymous with Strade Bianche, could either make or break a GC rider’s bid for victory; crashes, mechanicals and other mishaps were all seen as a certainty beforehand.
The central danger that the stage posed was its unpredictability; Pello Bilbao told Cycling Weekly that anything could happen. That prediction came to fruition with a reshuffling of the general classification in Siena, with 21-year-old Mexican Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) now top of the pile by more than a minute.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG now have four riders in the top ten with Del Toro and pre-race favourite Juan Ayuso the two best. Brandon McNulty and Adam Yates are also in eighth and ninth respectively, therefore giving the squad four cards to play as they look to up the control heading into the second week.
Ayuso has already won a stage and is still surely the team’s protected rider, although Del Toro and Yates’ strong position could spring a few issues with an internal power struggle the only real risk of derailing the team's planned bid for victory. However, with Ayuso having stitches on his knee after a crash, perhaps it is Del Toro's time.
It won’t be easy though for UAE: several riders are more than capable of breaking their stranglehold over proceedings in the coming days. Chief amongst them are South American duo Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers): two former Giro winners and two riders capable of causing carnage in the high mountains when they come into their own.
So far, Carapaz has flown somewhat under the radar, however this is no bad thing. With some clever and astute riding, following and tracking moves as opposed to launching his own attacks, the former Olympic champion finds himself in fourth overall: 1:40 off the lead of Del Toro.
Unlike the Mexican and Ayuso, Carapaz doesn’t possess the same strength in depth around him, particularly by way of mountain domestiques. But that won’t deter the 31-year-old Ecuadorian; Carapaz is more than capable of exerting his own power and authority once the road reaches high altitude and he can take flight into the distance.
Bernal’s return to form and fitness this season has been nothing short of miraculous, particularly after he fractured his collarbone in late February and temporarily put his return to the Giro in doubt.
The Colombian’s form so far has been the cherry on the cake of Ineos Grenadiers’ resurgence in 2025, with the 28-year-old’s continuous display of aggressive and offensive racing a clear sign that the squad’s recaptured “fighting spirit” is here to stay, at least for now. Considering where he was just a few years ago, Bernal simply being present at the sharp end of a major race again is extraordinary.
The 2021 Giro winner was left with a devastating list of injuries after a horror crash in training - in which he hit a bus - nearly cost him his career. In the latter half of the stage, Bernal wasn’t able to cope with the power being put down by Wout van Aert and Del Toro on the road to the Piazza del Campo. But the Colombian showed some strong form, and Ineos will be enthused by his current position.
On the other side, Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) are two riders now with a mountain to climb going into the next fortnight, literally and metaphorically. As is often the case with Roglič, misfortune befell him yet again in a Grand Tour as he came down on the gravel and lost substantial time in the race for pink. At the end of stage eight he was just 17 seconds off the maglia rosa, a jersey he has already worn during this Giro, but he is now nearly two and a half minutes down.
The circumstances were far from ideal, particularly after Red Bull had already suffered the huge blow of losing Jai Hindley to injury, leaving Roglič without a key lieutenant ahead of the immensely difficult final week. But all is not lost for the German team and a solid ride in stage ten’s time trial to Pisa could begin to rectify the situation.
Storer is the another major pre-race favourite to have lost time. The Australian came into the race being talked up as a potential challenger after his success at the Tour of the Alps and stage win at Paris-Nice. The diminutive climber packs a punch in the mountains, although he could struggle to gain back the three minutes he now finds himself down by.
Unlike Roglič, the Australian doesn’t possess the same GC racing experience which could help him get back on track. But as the Giro has proven time and time again, anything is possible and with Rome still two weeks away, the race for the Trofeo Senza Fine is still very much wide open.
